Floating Desk

So finally finished the remodel project today. So much mess to cleanup in the workshop, but at least it will stop getting worse now. As part of the project, I wanted to build a floating desk out of some countertop. Once it was in, decided to do a bit a framing around it which is the closest I’ve come to woodworking in a while. Got to break out the scroll saw :).

Drawer unit is from IKEA – no time/space/tools to do it myself 😦

Edit: I see a lot of people find me on this post. To provide some more details.

I am using a basic laminate 6′ countertop from Lowes that is cut to size.

I used some angle iron (also Lowes) to create the supports. There is a backing in the rear support because of the shape of the countertop. The countertop has a bumpout so the support bracket needs to be further out from the wall to get underneath the main part of the top.

The angle iron supports are all screwed into studs in the wall with screws/washers.

I then laid some strips of wood (some pre-primed mdf pine or some such from Lowes) on the angle iron to give the screws more wood to bite into so I could use longer scews. They are just lying on there angle-iron at that point.

I then laid the countertop on and screwed it up through the angle iron with again screws and washers. This one is not that big (about 53″). Longer and I would have laid a center rail down for support (long ways) to avoid sagging.

I bought the computer wire slots (at Lowes) and the appropriate size drillout for the cabling. You will want a corded power drill as countertop is hard stuff and I wouldn’t want to use my cordless on this.

I made the molding myself using a scroll saw and some pre-primed mdf from Lowes, largely stenciling the side shapes on from scrap countertop with a little creative license. I think I had to thin the back piece to get it to the same thickness of the countertop there. I also put some roundovers on them. The bottom/top rail roundovers end where the sides are, not the whole length.

It’s glued to the walls on back and side. I used some angle brackets and short screws to attach the bottom rail. The bottom rail is also screwed into the sides (careful for creating splits, pre-drill the hole!).

Then did a little caulking to tidy it all up. The bottom rail hides the supporting angle iron.

If you didn’t want to create custom molding you could just caulk the sides and back and paint over the angle iron underneath to hide it (depending on height it may not even be visible).